Sacrifice
by Eliyora
Summary: Shuggazoom won the war, but the victory came with a price, and someone has been unable to handle that price.


"Sacrifice"

By: Eliyora

Eliyora: Okay, this is a one-shot. Understand? A ONE-SHOT!! I will not put up more chapters for this. Sorry, but I won't.

**Summary: The final battle had been won. Shuggazoom, and its citizens, were safe, and peace had truly come to the planet. However, the victory came at a heavy price, one that a certain someone has not been able to handle.**

LINELINELINELINELINE

How long had it been by then? A month? A week? A day? He couldn't tell anymore. He had absolutely no concept of how long it had been since the end of the war.

Closing his eyes, he saw it all happening again as though he were still there, as though it were the present moment.

_The Hyper Force was thrown viciously against the walls of the throne room. They all rose to their feet as quickly as they could, facing Skeleton King. They knew that this was it. One way or another, this battle would decided everything. Skeleton King knew it as well. Neither side was willing to yield an inch this time. This was a do-or-die battle._

_Nova leapt forward first._

_"BOOM BOOM WAKE-UP!!" she yelled, landing a direct hit. Unfortunately, Skeleton King's new-found power made him impervious to the blow. He simply laughed and threw her aside like a rag doll._

_Sprx, of course, did not like that. He threw himself forward with a, "MAGNA TINGER BLAST!!" Skeleton King simply waved his claw-like hand and threw the red monkey aside._

_Gibson and Otto jumped forward together, screaming, "DOUBLE MONKEY ATTACK!!"_

_Another unsuccessful attempt._

_Now, it was down to the student and mentor._

He shook his head. He hated that memory. It didn't matter that it was a memory of the moment the war had been won. He didn't want to see it anymore. He wanted to forget it.

To be honest, he thought as he stood from where he'd been sitting in a corner of his room, I want to forget about everything.

_"What do we do, Antauri?" Chiro asked. "He's way more powerful than ever!"_

_"Don't give up, Chiro," Antauri said. "He may be strong, but the reasons we have to stop him are stronger. There is much that relies on the outcome of this battle. No matter how strong he's become, we must defeat him. We must win!"_

_"You're right! We can't let Shuggazoom down!" Chiro replied._

_Skeleton King laughed again. "You insolent fools. Your precious world is doomed, as are all of you. You monkeys could have served me. If you had, you would have been spared. Now, your fate has been sealed." _

_He launched a sphere of dark energy at Antauri and Chiro, who were just barely able to dodge it. Skeleton King then fired a wave of dark lightning at Chiro, succeeding in knocking the boy to his knees. However, his lack of attention gave Antauri an opening._

_"MONKEY MIND SCREAM!!" he yelled, sending it at Skeleton King's back. Though he did damage the undead king, moreover what he did was draw his attention._

_"Wretched simian!" Skeleton King bellowed, sending a pulse of energy directly at Antauri's chest. Antauri landed on the other side of the room, writhing, almost paralyzed by the pain._

A sigh escaped his lips. Why hadn't he been able to do more? Why hadn't he been able to stop it from happening? He should have done something, ANYTHING! If he had, then maybe...

Sighing again, he opened a drawer.

_Skeleton King loomed over Antauri, an attack charged. He going to kill him, for good this time. There would be no coming back from this one. Closing his eyes, Antauri braced himself._

_"GAAAHHH!!"_

_Antauri looked up and saw that Chiro had thrown himself onto Skeleton King's back, refusing to let go._

_"Get off you worthless boy!" Skeleton King roared, trying unsuccessfully to throw Chiro off._

_"I've watched you hurt someone I care about for the last time!" Chiro screamed, an almost insane fury lighting his eyes. The Power Primate began to pulse visibly around him._

_Antauri watched helplessly. What was Chiro doing?_

_"This time, when someone kills you, STAY THAT WAY!!" Chiro screamed, the Power Primate glowing ever brighter._

_It was too bright._

Reaching a hand into the drawer, he pulled out something that no one would have ever suspected he owned. He then dropped down to the floor again, tears filling his eyes.

They overflowed as he stared at the gun in his hand.

_Antauri forced himself to his feet. Around the room, the rest of the team was beginning to wake. When they saw what was happening, they all realized what the boy was up to._

_"CHIRO!!"_

_"MONKEY FUUUUUUU!!"_

_Then there was nothing but a blinding light._

Chiro had put absolutely everything into that one attack. His Power Primate essence, and his life energy. The combination had been more than enough to destroy Skeleton King, but it had come with a heavy price.

Chiro's body had been unable to take the force of the attack. As Skeleton King had disintegrated, so had Chiro. The boy's last words were, "You lose, Skeleton King. Shuggazoom will always be safe from you now." Then he had simply ceased to be. The only thing he left behind was his orange scarf, which now belonged to Jinmay. She had been utterly heartbroken when she learned of Chiro's fate, but she said what they were all thinking.

"Chiro was a true hero. He was young, but he gave everything to protect his home and his loved ones. Though he's gone, he will never be forgotten. Chiro saved us all."

Unfortunately, Antauri hadn't been able to leave that day behind.

When Chiro died, Antauri had lost more than a student. He had lost his son. Antauri had, for a long time, considered Chiro to be his son. He had enjoyed watching the boy grow, play, and laugh. He hurt whenever Chiro was hurt or sad. He protected Chiro with a parent's ferocity, and loved Chiro as though they shared blood. Yet then, at the moment that decided whether the boy would live or die, he had failed him. He had been helpless to do anything but watch as the boy's body simply fell apart.

His heart had died that day, and his spirit had been frozen since then. He had never known pain like this in his entire existence. He had never allowed himself to consider the possibility of Chiro's death, for the mere thought alone was too painful to bear. And now, he was trapped in the eternal truth that he had never allowed himself to think of before.

It was utterly unbearable, and he couldn't stand it.

Crying silently, Antauri raised the gun to his head.

LINELINELINELINELINE

Eliyora: Yes, I know. Antauri is not an emo. I know that!! However, I have known parents who have lost their children, and no matter what they do, you can always feel how much pain they're in, even if it happened years ago. I can never understand how it is they don't give in to the pain, so here, Antauri did. Sorry for depressing stuff, but that's how it is.


End file.
